France: Standard of the President of the Republic

Last modified: 2025-09-06 by olivier touzeau
Keywords: president |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

• At sea
• On cars and planes
  • 2024 regulation
  • Before 2024

See also:

• France
• France: Army rank flags
• France: Standard of Ministers
• France: Presidential standard under the Third Republic (1870-1940)
• French State (Etat français), Vichy government (1940-1944)
• France: Personal standard of the Président under the Fifth Republic (1959-)
• France: The "President's" Tricolore flag with a narrow white stripe

At sea

Flag of President of the Republic at sea - Image by Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

The flag at sea is square with three blue-white-red stripes, and the optical proportions.

Armand du Payrat, Željko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 23 July 2017

On cars and planes

2024 Regulation

Nota: the official representation of the 2024 pennant of the President of Republic was not yet published.

A new regulation about some specific rank flags used on cars or in planes was published in 2024: Instruction n° 849/ARM/SGA/DMCA/SHD/DHS/DSD relative à la symbolique militaire dans les armées et la gendarmerie nationale du 10 avril 2024.
Source: Official bulletin of the Ministry of Armed Forces.

The text introduces a pennant for the President of the Republic. This pennant was not listed in the 1963 Regulation.
This is the first regulation for this particular flag (which is there considered a pennant) and it means that this presidential flag shoudn't remain without emblem in the center as it has been de facto since 1995.

Corentin Chamboredon & Olivier Touzeau 12 May & 25 August 2025

According to the new regulation, these pennants (rank flags) are attached to the left front wing by a 45cm-high removable pole, topped with an 8cm-high golden spearhead, they are 35 x 40cm in size and in the national colors. The obverse and reverse bear the same motifs. The aircraft pennants are identical, but are only displayed during taxiing or when stationary. They are not used on rotary-wing aircraft.

Pennant in the national colors with a golden fringe (and braids of 3 cm), with in its white part the emblem of a lictor's fasces of the president of the Republic (25 cm high), embroidered in gold and with a golden fringe of 3 cm [not sure about this last part, the French word here is galon, not frange. I don't know why, maybe it is a specific word used in the military].
White cravat with golden fringe (and braids of 3 cm) fixed under the finial.
Nota: The 2024 text makes a difference between the golden braids (galons dorés) on the edges of the pennant, and the fringes added only on the presidential pennant, besides the braids.

2024 Emblem of President of the Republic
Image by Service historique de la défense, transmitted by Olivier Touzeau, 14 July 2025

According to the Service historique de la Défense, representations are awaited in the autumn 2025 for the pennant mentioned for vehicles and/or aircraft for the President of the Republic in the 2024 regulation.
The President has full discretion to adopt another symbol or their initials.

Olivier Touzeau 14 July & 25 August 2025

Before 2024

Presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron did not add any personal emblem to the standard's "template". The presidential car flag is in proportion 7:8 with a golden fringe.

Armand du Payrat, Željko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 23 July 2017